From a daily soap actor to a Bollywood hero, Jay has come a long way, we must say

Jay Bhanushali is all set to make his big Bollywood debut with Hate Story 2 opposite Surveen Chawla. It’s yet to be seen if he will he be able to make big in B-town, but the actor has had quite a successful outing on television, we must say.

Bhanushali first came into the limelight, when he portrayed the role of Neev Shergill in Ekta Kapoor’s TV soap, Kayamath. He made the girls fall in love with him, all thanks to his chocolate boy looks. And it is during that time, when he become the second runner up of Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa 2.

After winning many hearts as a daily soap actor, Jay went on to impress the masses when he began hosting Zee TV’s Dance India Dance. His funny one-liners and spot-on sense of humour got the audience talking. And ever since then people haven’t accepted anyone else as the host of the dance reality show.

He also went on to participate in season 5 of couple dance reality show, Nach Baliye along with wifey Mahii Vij. The couple won the show with their powerful dance acts.

Jay is now ready for his filmi debut with Hate Story 2. And looking at the hot and sizzling trailer, we are sure that he will stun the audiences by showing his yet another side.

The Dance India Dance host is gearing up for his Bollywood debut

TV actor Jay Bhanushali, who is making his debut in Bollywood with action-drama Desi Kattey, says his character in the film eventually turned him into a shooting expert. The 29-year-old Kayamath actor is playing a pistol manufacturer in the Anand Kumar directed film. ”I play this character called Gyani. He is a boy who makes desi pistol since he was a child. It is a story about how this boy represents India as a shooter in Olympics. I became a shooting expert after dealing with pistols so much. When the story was narrated to me by Anand (director), I thought this is the film I should start my film career with,” Bhanushali told in an interview.

Known for his boy-next-door image on the small screen, the actor has gone for a major makeover for the film. He has grown his beard for the role. ”I have worked hard for this look. It has been almost eight months since I shaved. I also had to lose weight for the first half of the film but in the second half I had to look little bit muscular. So, I had to work on the transformation,” he said.

Bhanushali said he would soon be getting back to his normal look for his stint on TV. The actor has done a variety of things on TV, be it hosting shows, playing the lead in soaps or participating in reality shows.

When asked the difference between the big screen and small screen, he said, “I don’t think there is much difference between TV and films because the amount of hard work people do in TV is similar to films. In fact, we work for 24 hours in TV. Rather, TV has trained me very well as an actor,” he said.

Bhanushali finds the exchange of actors between TV and silver screen a good thing and says he made sure his film debut is different from his colleagues. ”When I was signing this film my thought process was that the film I do should not be similar to my co-actors who have come from television to films. This film is related to gangsters and sports,” he said.

The newly married telly actor is happy to have found a supportive partner in husband Rohit Reddy, who pushes her to work hard

Anita Hassanandani tied the knot this year in October, is making a comeback on TV after a gap of two years with new show Yeh Hai Mohabbatein. “I haven’t taken a break after marriage. Just two days after my marriage I was in Chandigarh promoting my Punjabi film. All this has become possible because of my supportive husband. In fact, I will work more now. He is the one who always tell me to call back if I miss a call from work when I am at home. He is really pushy about my work,” Anita said.

In the Star Plus’s soap opera, Anita will be seen in a grey role of an ex-wife for the first time. “It is an exciting role because as a performer the role was challenging for me. I have never done something of this sort. It’s slightly grey and selfish character. It is not an out-ant-out negative character. But after this role I am prepared for hate mails from my fans,” she said.

The show is based on author Manju Kapur’s fifth novel Custody and is produced by Ekta Kapoor. Having started her career as a protagonist in Ekta’s show Kavyanjali, Anita made her mark on small screen with her brilliant performances in TV honcho’s other shows Kayamath, Kya Dill Mein Hai among others.

“Ekta is known for taking out the best in me. I have always trusted her as per as my career is concerned. Working with Ekta is like home. When Ekta offered me Yeh Hai Mohabbatein, I asked her whether she is sure about it or not. She is like ‘definitely you can’. This character is absolutely opposite to what I have done in the past. From the day one I was in Ekta’s mind for this show,” she said.

But for the actor, playing the character was a challenge for her because it was difficult to balance between being nasty and negative. “It is difficult to portray grey characters because there is a very thin line between being nasty and slightly negative. This role is a change for me because it will give me a new image. As an actor you want to do something which audience don’t expect from you,” she said.

Nothing has changed on the sets for Anita after two years. “When I came back to the sets, I felt I know everybody but only their positions have changed. It was a good feeling working again with Balaji telefilm. Everything has fallen into place very nicely.”

Anita will be next seen in Ekta Kapoor‘s production venture Ragini MMS 2, where she will be portraying a gothic chic in the multi-starrer horror film.

The former Dr Ashutosh of Kuch Toh Log Kahenge celebrates his birthday one day before Independence Day. He turns 51 today!

Mohnish Behl celebrates his 51st birthday today. And along with cakes, pastries and confetti we try and remember the way this man made us laugh, smile and – sniff sniff – cry.

Mohnish Behl was born to Nutan, famed Bollywood actor, and Rajnish Bahl, a lieutenant commander in the Indian Navy. But his mom wasn’t the only Bollywood connection. His grandmom was Shobhna Samarth, a well-known Marathi actor, and his aunt Tanuja starred in numerous films and is the mother of Kajol and Tanisha Mukherjee.

Mohnish started his acting career with Bekraar (1983), but first got noticed in Sooraj Barjatya’s Maine Pyar Kiya (1989), in which he played the role of a villain. Post that we saw Bahl in numerous movies like Hum Aapke Hain Koun…!, Raja Hindustani, Hum Saath Saath Hai, Force and Desi Boyz, to name just a few of the 70-plus productions he has acted in.

But it wasn’t only films that got Behl recognition. His most recent stint as Dr Ashutosh was a rage with his fans and it was met with lots of resistance when the makers replaced him with Sharad Kelkar. Other shows to Mohnish’s credit include Sanjivani – A medical boon, Kahaani Ghar Ghar Ki, Dill Mill Gayye and Kayamath; he has done seven serials, last count.

So what are your birthday plans, dear Mohnish? Will you celebrate it with wife Ektaa Behl and kids Pranutan and Krishaa? We’re curious to know.

Here’s wishing you a happy and fun-filled birthday. And yeah, we still miss you as Dr Ashutosh!